TO THE BRIM

As I was getting closer to finishing an order a while back I realized I was going to have several tall areas that needed filling between four larger and taller pieces, about 16 to 18 inches out of the bisque. Given that I needed some filler I decided to make a few a few taller covered jar forms with slightly exagerated finials to complete the lids and forms. Illustrated is one such example, this covered piece is based on one of my teabowl forms where I have applied white slip impasto style around the pot looking a bit like it has been faceted. The surface may look like it is pinholed but infact I used to left over slurry which had some sand and other debris in it which adds to the texture of the form. On top of the ringed lid I have placed an elongated B.C. (or Prometheus) inspired finial and the whole package is glazed in my Oribe glaze with some Kuro-Oribe accents especially on the finial and the lid. When I loaded the kiln, these taller, narrower forms fit well and helped fill out the space in the kiln and turned out okay to boot. Better to fill the voids to the brim with experiment and fail than to leave any space empty is my mantra for better or worse after all these years of making pots and firing kilns.